Birthday Candy
by shi-chan
Summary: GokuYama It all started with Gokudera fishing for something - anything - in his pocket to pass as a birthday gift. Years later, the tradition lived on.


I do not own Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn. Purely fanwork, nothing else.

Warning: Yaoi, possible OOC. Any misspellings or wrong grammar is unintentional. I am my own beta. I could have missed some stuff.

Edited.

**BIRTHDAY CANDY**

Tradition was a funny thing, Gokudera thought, recalling how the whole rather ridiculous - yet precious - thing started.

Gokudera _never_ _knew_ up until a hoard of girls approached Yamamoto during break time and flooded him with presents. Tsuna had all but chuckled bemusedly at the distance - somewhat flailing in the middle a bit when he got shoved aside by a girl who was trying to get to Yamamoto - voicing what was already the obvious.

"Ah, Yamamoto sure is popular."

Gokudera was already waving an arm at the girl who dared shoved the Tenth, scowling the whole time, said scowl being thrown at the athlete's direction. Gokudera felt himself hiss a bit as Yamamoto laughed and graciously accepted the presents and well wishes, smiling and being his normal cheery and charming self. Gokudera found it downright ridiculous that he could have sworn the paint was peeling from all the ha-ha-ha-thank-you-how-kind-of-you-to-remember smiles and chuckles.

"Hnn. Come on Tenth. Let's leave the baseball idiot to his own ... _famiglia_." Gokudera grumbled mockingly, turning his back on the athlete and walking down the school hallway for some much needed goddamn peace and quiet. The girls' squeals were driving him mad.

"Ahh, Gokudera-kun, don't be like that." Tsuna shook his head and followed suite. "It is his birthday after all." Tsuna knew better than to ask Gokudera if the young man got Yamamoto anything.

"Birthdays are for kids. Like the Stupid-Cow." Gokudera muttered and continued walking till he was in the quiet area of the playground before he promptly lit a cigarette. "The only important birthday is the Tenth's birthday."

Tsuna didn't bother to say much after that, merely giving Gokudera a bit of a sheepish look and deciding that perhaps silence was the best. So they sat there, against the wall of the building overlooking the playground, Tsuna eating his lunch and Gokudera inhaling his smokes till the bell rang and break-time was over.

Apparently the gift giving didn't let up till the end of the day. By then, Yamamoto was lugging around an interestingly misshapen _large _bag filled with trinkets and home made sweets. Gokudera was once again scowling over Tsuna's head at the still smiling teen.

"Maa, maa, Gokudera-kun, it's okay. The bag isn't that big." Tsuna chuckled a bit.

"People are _looking_, Tenth. It is a disgrace to the Vongola to look like a fool." Gokudera grumbled.

And indeed, people were looking at the large disposable bag that Yamamto had over his shoulder, the teen looking like twisted parody of St. Nicholas. "Hmmm, I wonder why." Yamamoto looked around, genuinely curious.

Tsuna had to hold his hands up to try to pacify Gokudera just as they took a turn towards his home street. "Ahh, Gokudera-kun, it's okay. He can't just throw it away, you know?"

"And why not?" Gokudera twisted his lips a bit to the side, cocking an eyebrow. Really, Yamamoto was embarrassing Tsuna by looking like a goon. Tsuna got embarrassed often enough, he didn't need it from his - and this Gokudera bit his tongue - own _Famiglia_. "I do so all the time. Surely you have no use for all the junk they give you."

"No," Yamamoto said, evenly, calmly, serenely. "I don't. But it's bad form and disrespectful to throw away good food. The little things can always be donated anyway." He laughed a bit. "That and they went through all the trouble, it wouldn't be really polite to disrespect the girls after they took the time to get me something."

Tsuna smiled.

Gokudera scowled. "Hnn. Suit yourself."

Once they were by the gates of Sawada residence, Tsuna took out an envelop and handed it to Yamamoto. "Happy Birthday, Yamamoto." He said, smiling. "I didn't really know what to get you, but I figured that might be more useful to you than anything."

Gokudera found himself swelling with pride at the perfection that was the Tenth. Always caring for his subordinates, always remembering the important things, always bothering to go the extra mile for his _Famiglia_. Sawada Tsunayoshi was truly a worthy man of being the Tenth and head of the Vongola Family.

He was just about to praise Tsune for his good form and effort - and at the same time demand that Yamamto show his proper thanks and gratitude towards the Tenth - when Yamamoto gave a whoop and was suddenly grinning.

"Ah, Tsuna, thank you!" He said with undiluted joy, staring at a gift voucher to one of the best sports equipment dealer in the district.

Tsuna merely smiled at the obviously happy teen and bid them both good bye. Brown eyes strayed towards Gokudera, giving him a small and slightly pointed look before turning away to head back to his house.

Gokudera somewhat felt a tad bit ashamed, because he knew that look, that slightly disappointed and it's-useless look coming from Tsuna. How can he be the Tenth's right hand man when he disappoints his own boss by being ... well, nonchalant about things that people were supposed to be nonchalant about?

He promptly shoved his hands in to his pockets, searching for _something _as they continued to approach the intersection where they parted ways. He managed to pull out a candy, one of those fruity flavored ones. It was the candy he purposely took from Lambo because the goddamn Stupid-Cow was being completely and utterly moronic and annoying.

"Oi, Baseball-Idiot!" He called out, tossing the green candy towards him.

Yamamto caught it with ease and blinked at the small candy in his calloused palms then back up at Gokudera. "This is -"

"Happy birthday, idiot." He grumbled darkly, feeling a large part in him gag and scream in protest. This was for the Tenth's sake, really. He was only doing this so that he wouldn't disappoint Tsuna.

He just wasn't expecting the bright smile - possibly brighter than what he gave Tsuna earlier - to be directed at him as the taller teen unwrapped the candy and plopped the round green sweet in to his mouth. "Thank you." He said, candy pressed against his inner cheek.

Gokudera felt his cheeks heat up and he scowled darkly. It was the scowl that was enough to make enemies and bullies cower but the blush ruined the effect.

"Hnn! Foolish idiot." He sniffed, and turned around and continued on his way home. He didn't need to turn around to see how Yamamto was still smiling at his retreating back. A small part of him - a tiny, microscopic sized thing that he squished down viciously - pointed out that it was nice to have such open honesty and innocence directed solely on him. If he ignored the mountain pile of protests his brain was conjuring up, Gokudera could have sworn he felt a bit and oddly ... _warm_.

Years later - amidst the blood, cold fights, wipe outs and dark deals - Gokudera found himself approaching Yamamoto - not for the first time since then - in the locker rooms of their temporary base, the blood washed off and clad in a once again pristine suit, hair still wet from the shower. "Oi," He said, making Yamamoto glance up from where he was sitting on the bench, clad in a towel and wet from his shower, sticking a band-aid in place on his palm.

"Hey," The swordsman nodded, eyes still ironically warm despite the dark world they live in, innocence barely preserved, but somewhat shining through whenever members of the Vongola would approach him - a remnant of what he once was.

On some days, Gokudera could have sworn it made something in him clench a bit.

The life of a hit-man was never easy after all.

"Here," Gokudera took out a small cellophane wrapped chocolate, expensive, an imported brand, looking far too fancy for his taste and didn't toss it at the seated man, but instead, gently placed it on the bandaged palm. "Happy birthday."

As always - like the past decade and more - Yamamoto unwrapped the sweet treat and plopped it in to his mouth, chewed and swallowed. Only then did he smile - the smile not as bright as it was when they were still in school - but definitely brighter than what he usually showed. There was innocence there, a small tiny and stubborn flame that simply refused to go out no matter what. A life of blood-shed and politics will never preserve innocence completely, even when it was with people like Yamamoto.

"Thank you, Gokudera." He said softly, bright and warm and appreciating smile directed at Gokudera - because Gokudera bothered, Gokudera went through the trouble, because Gokudera was precious to him in this time when he's lost so much.

The smile, Gokudera admired, because he himself was incapable of smiling. Those days were long gone. There was no time or place in their currently world for smiles. It made Yamamoto's extremely rare smiles and laughs all the more precious to him, a break from the dark world they lived and fought in.

This time, however, instead of scowling or walking away, Gokudera smirked - the closest thing he could manage to a smile - and reached out slowly to press fingers against Yamamoto's warm cheek, heated look in dark green and much sharper eyes. Yamamoto was warm, always warm, never cold.

"You're welcome."

FIN

Uh, yeah. Random.

Why yes, this is in fact GokuYama. XD


End file.
